smithfield foods

Newly-drafted USDA regulations aimed at protecting public health may make poultry safer to eat, but there's a trade-off that puts worker health and safety on the line.

There's never a dull moment on Wall Street -- now more than ever! From homebuilder earnings to yoga pants to Netflix's stock, here are a few items that will help shape the week ahead.

A quiet week for earnings, along with new reports on consumer credit, consumer sentiment, economic optimism, wholesale trade, the U.S. trade balance and federal budget balance, should give the stock markets a chance to settle down after last week's volatility.

Smithfield Foods reported an upswing in profits for its fiscal first quarter Wednesday as costs fell and sales rose. The CEO touted strength in pork and hog production segments.

On tap: The Federal Reserve's next Beige Book report, which compiles anecdotal information on current economic conditions from each of the 12 Federal Reserve Bank districts, and results from Smithfield, Talbots and Men's Warehouse.

Smithfield Foods beat Wall Street's fourth-quarter earnings estimates Thursday, its report noting that signs are emerging to indicate the beginnings of a turnaround in the battered and beleaguered hog industry. The company's adjusted results showed a profit of 18 cents a share.

The number of companies in danger of defaulting on their credit obligations will remain high in 2010. And a disproportionate number of them could come from the U.S.